


Deck the Halls and Hospital Rooms

by chasethewind



Series: Chase's 12 Days of Christmas 2016 [12]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9050782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind
Summary: Anonymous: “you’re in the hospital for the holidays so i came in while you were sleeping to decorate your room i love you merry christmas”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dire Straits](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6758728) by [chasethewind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind). 



> So this is part of the Dire Straits verse. If you haven’t read it, I suggest doing so, but it won’t negate the fluffiness of this fic.

Christmas time has never been that great for Oliver. Last Christmas his girlfriend and the mother of his child died in boating accident while they had been on vacation in the Florida Keys. He would never forget that moment in his entire life and vowed never to get on another boat again. The Christmas before that, his parents died in a plane crash. This year, he’s spending Christmas in the hospital recovering from a car accident that almost claimed his life and his daughter’s if it hadn’t been for that good Samaritan.

‘Felicity,’ he thinks, a smile barely touching his lips as he lays in the hospital bed, eyes still closed. The pain meds the doctors have him on don’t keep him in a lucid state for long. There are periods where he wakes, dizzy and disoriented and on the verge of panic because he doesn’t hear his daughter’s cries. Then a hand reaches out to stroke his forehead and he remembers what happened.

Although he barely knows Felicity, Oliver feels deep gratitude toward the woman that saved his life and now sits with him on a daily basis either holding his hand or taking care of his daughter. He can’t say much, though. They’ve had only a couple of conversations since he woke up from his short coma. He always always ends up falling asleep before he can express just how deeply indebted his is to her.

Today (tonight?) Oliver feels a little more lucid than he has in a while. The room is quite aside from the slow, steady beep of the heart rate monitor beside his bed. He doesn’t know what time it is or how long he’s been in the hospital. All he knows is that with each passing day, he feels a little stronger. It’ll be months before he can get up and move around again, but right now, he just needs to wake up for longer than a few minutes at a time.

Mia pops into his mind and he feels his smile widen. The only reason Oliver continues to fight is for his daughter. After Samantha’s death, Mia kept him from spiraling out of control and drinking himself into oblivion. He wants to get better so he can hold her once again. The doctors won’t allow her near him fearing she might cause more damage than good, but Felicity always brings her close when she senses he needs her comforting touch.

“Hey,” he hears the woman in question whisper from somewhere beside him. Oliver turns his head and opens his eyes. They immediately zero in on her. Tonight she’s wearing a green Christmas sweater even though he knows she’s Jewish.

“Hi,” Oliver murmurs.

“Merry Christmas,” Felicity says, her smile turning into a grin. “I just finished your gift.”

“Yeah?” he asks. “What is it?”

“This.” She pushes back the seat and motions with her hand around the room. Its stark white walls are now festooned with garland and multi-colored lights. In the corner stands a fully decorated Christmas tree replete with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. Beneath it are several wrapped gifts in shiny wrapping paper. Even the windows are covered in stickers that say “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas”.

“Oh, my god,” Oliver whispers as he takes it all in.

“I figured since you were stuck here during the holidays, I’d try to make it feel a little more like home,” Felicity says. “Besides, after hearing about all the terrible Christmases you’ve had in the past, I felt it was important for you to have something good this year.”

“How did you know about…?”

“Your sister,” she answers before he even gets to finish his question. “She came to visit while you were asleep, well, she’s quite the firecracker.”

“That’s Thea for you,” Oliver lightly chuckles.

“Anyway, after the initial shock of seeing me, we got to talking and she told me about how awful your past few Christmases have been. That’s when I came up with the idea of decorating your room,” Felicity explains, her hands moving about wildly. “Thea loved the idea and helped me finish it just a little while ago.”

“Is she coming back?”

“Yeah, she’ll be back as soon as she changes into an ugly Christmas sweater so we both match and takes care of Mia. Poor thing pooped all over her onesie and needed a bath.”

“Felicity,” he says, reaching out to grab her hand. They fingers interlock and Oliver adds, “Thank you. You’re remarkable.”

“Thank you for remarking on it,” she replies with a soft smile.

“I don’t know where Mia and I would be without you right now,” Oliver continues. “I don’t even what to think about what would have happened to her if you weren’t there.” A lump begins to form in his throat as thoughts of Mia growing up alone, without a mother or a father, invade his mind. The tears begin to gather in his eyes. He has so much to be thankful for this Christmas, most of all, this compassionate and caring woman sitting beside him.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Felicity whispers as she strokes the tears away with her free hand. “You’re here, you’re alive, and both of you are safe.”

“Thank you, Felicity, from the bottom of my heart,” Oliver whispers back, his voice shaking with the depth of his gratitude. Tears freely spill down his cheeks as he gazes up at her, the multi-colored lights making her face shine so beautifully in their glow.

“You’re welcome,” she murmurs, her lips only inches away from his. They move to his forehead and press a light kiss there as his hand wiggles its way out of hers. He reaches for her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. The flutter he feels in his heart is caught by the monitor.

Felicity pulls back and gazes at him, her eyes aglow with awe and wonder. Oliver guides her back down, his head coming off the pillow in order to reach her lips. He hadn’t intended to kiss her, but she doesn’t pull back. Instead, her hand reaches around to the back of his neck, helping hold up his head.

Their lips touch for several moments before she finally breaks the kiss. “Wow,” Felicity whispers, her eyes shut and her forehead pressed against his as her thumb runs circles over his cheek.

“Yeah,” Oliver sighs.

“Is it customary to kiss before a first date? Because…” He stops her before she can ramble on with another kiss. This time, it’s deeper, longer than the first one. Oliver allows himself to get lost in her lips, in the way she gently digs her fingers into his scalp as she pulls him closer. His heart begins to be a little faster. Butterflies flutter wildly in his stomach.

No one has ever made him feel the way Felicity makes him feel. Not Samantha, not Laurel or Sara or McKenna. What he feels for Felicity is both exhilarating and terrifying. He’s only known her for a couple of weeks and yet the bond that grows between them seems to strengthen every day. Is this what it feels like to find your soulmate?

The question lingers in Oliver’s mind until a throat clears somewhere nearby. Felicity flies back into her chair, her face a deep shade of red as she tries to cover it with her hand. The bright magenta lipstick so wore is smeared all over her lips. When Oliver looks up, he finds Thea standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face and Mia cradled in her arms.

“Well, hello, big brother,” she says, side-eyeing Felicity as she steps into the room. Oliver stares at her like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. He knows the amount of hell he’s about to get from his sister, but when she sits down on the bed opposite Felicity and doesn’t say anything, he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thea, hi,” Oliver replies, feelings his face burn under her scrutiny.

She remains silent over what she has just witnessed and instead says, “Mia is all cleaned up and fed. She spent the last hour crying for you, so I figured it’d be a good idea to bring her back to her daddy.” Thea gently places her over Oliver’s chest, the fussy little girl finally settling down once her father’s arm wraps around her.

“Hi baby girl,” he cooes into her ear as his hand runs up and down her back. She wraps her chubby arms around his neck, her head coming to rest on his collarbone as she huddles as close to him as she can. Oliver presses a soft kiss to her forehead and she settles down even more.

“I’ll leave you three alone for a bit,” Felicity says as she gets up from her seat. While Oliver doesn’t want her to go, he understands just how awkward she feels. That kiss was something they would have to talk about later. Right now, though, he has to deal with his sister first.

As soon as the door closes behind Felicity, Thea strikes. “Just a good Samaritan, huh?” she asks, her eyebrows wiggling.

“Not now, Thea,” Oliver shushes her.

“Fine,” she huffs. “And I’m only letting it slide because you’re in the hospital and I feel terrible for not coming sooner.”

“It’s okay, Speedy,” he replies. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

“Me too,” Thea says as she bends down to give him a hug.

As she promised, Felicity doesn’t become a topic of conversation that evening. At least not until Thea brings up the Christmas decorations and how long it took to put up the tree. Only then does she say, “I like her, Ollie.”

“I like her too,” Oliver admits.

“She adores Mia, you know.”

“I do.”

“I’m pretty sure she adores you, too.”

“Maybe.” He can’t help the smile growing on his face.

“Well, I dohope for both of your sakes you do something about it before I have to step in.”

“Speedy, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Good, because I really want my niece to grow up with someone like Felicity in her life.”

“Very subtle, Thea.”

She shrugs a shoulder before getting up off the bed. “What can I say? I like love stories with happy endings.”

Oliver simply shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “We’ll see,” he replies just before his sister opens the door to leave.

“I’m telling you, Ollie, I think she’s the one. And one day, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna put a ring on it.”

“Sure, Thea,” he shoots back as she steps out of the room and closes the door behind her leaving Oliver with Mia asleep on his chest.

He thinks about what Thea said and wonders if she’s right. His earlier thought comes to mind. Could Felicity really be the one? They still don’t know much about each other, but his gut tells him everything he does need to know: this woman is everything he’s ever wanted and more. Maybe Thea is right…

Oliver lays there, wondering, until Felicity wanders back into his room. He gazes up at her, a warm smile present on his face as she takes a seat in the chair beside the bed, and suddenly the urge to kiss her returns as do the butterflies. 'Holy shit,’ he thinks, 'Thea might actually be right.’ He doesn’t say anything, though. Instead, he reaches out to take Felicity’s hand.

There is no awkwardness when their fingers lock together, only happiness and heartfelt joy of being in each other’s presence. “Felicity,” he whispers. When she glances down at him, Oliver smiles and adds, “About the kiss…”

“It was nice,” she cuts him off before he can say anything else.

Oliver smiles. “It was,” he replies. “I’d really like to kiss you again,” he adds.

“One sec.” Felicity ducks into the bag she has slung around her shoulder and pulls something out. It’s a sprig of mistletoe with a little red bow tied up at the top. “I figured this would be appropriate given that it’s Christmas and all.”

Oliver can’t help but chuckle. He pulls Felicity back to his lips as she holds the mistletoe above their heads for one more toe-curling kiss before letting her go. “No more,” she whispers. “I don’t want to wake Mia.”

“Okay,” Oliver agrees. “Maybe later.”

“Definitely later.” Her smile and the way her eyes shine makes his heart feel full again.

Oliver doesn’t want to admit it just yet, but he truly believes he’s falling for this woman.

“Merry Christmas, Felicity,” he says, giving her one more peck on the lips.

“Merry Christmas, Oliver,” she replies, her head falling to the pillow beside his. For the rest of the night they stay like that, staring at each other and smiling.


End file.
